Obscure to Obvious
by reader-chic-2
Summary: Naive Ally Dawson watched her closest friend, Tanner, fall apart, bringing her down with him. In all the turmoil that is depression, Austin Moon strolls along and clears the fog from her eyes. In this coming-off-age two-shot, Ally runs from the mysterious bad boy to the upbeat and clearheaded jock. (Auslly) (AU) (Two-shot)
1. Chapter 1

**Obscure to Obvious Part 1**

 **A/N: So this is a repost. It got taken down for some reason so I am just reposting it. :)**

 **Disclaimer: Disney owns Austin and Ally. I own nothing. This is all fiction, however a few of these characters (Tanner and others) are based off of my life.**

 **I know. _You aren't supposed to do that._ _It isn't the best writing_. Well, I don't care. The beginning part of this happened and my mind just went crazy. Tanner is actually depressed in real life, and…well just read along and kind of guess. However, I did not actually do this stuff with him like Ally.**

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Ally's POV

Tanner Carr. I couldn't help but blush. That boy had something else altogether. He was on the skinny side, but I couldn't complain when it paired with that face of his. Boy, did I mention the hair?

Oh, right, he was also mine.

It helped with the looks. Guys with girlfriends weren't as hot as you'd think, though. So he wasn't technically mine, but he might have well be. He and I had a lot of history as strict friends. I remembered when the first time we admitted our feelings for each other. It was about ninth grade.

His face had appeared on the tiny little screen full of shock. I had averted my gaze but kept my phone pointed at my face. Damn, I had hoped I looked good. I couldn't see my reflection well because when you face time a person, you were downsized.

"You liked me in seventh grade? I liked you!" He had smirked with pleasure.

"Shoot, we could have had an awkward middle school relationship!" I had retorted back.

Since then, we face timed a lot. He and I grew to be best friends, better friends than Trish and I were. She moved away last year, but she never did take my feelings seriously. Tanner almost had to. He had depression, after all. For him, feelings were intense so sometimes he assumed mine were, too. I didn't want to tell him most of us with a normal chemical balance in our brains didn't feel such strong emotions. I also didn't want to tell myself that what I felt were, in fact, strong emotions.

I helped him through his two-girl struggle, which ended in both girls throwing their fists in his face. I watched in horror as he read the text messages I sent to Trish obsessing over Tanner. And I watched with dismay as he played it off with a laugh, taking the extra ego booster but not bothering to 'boost' mine.

I stopped talking to him for a while. Who wanted to be around somebody who didn't want to be around them, more than anyone else? Then I had an idea come to mind. Maybe that didn't matter. So he was more outgoing than me. So he partied most weekends. So he smoked pot…every day. That didn't matter. His dirty jokes made me blush and feel scandalous. His hands, when I was so graced with feeling them brush along my thighs, made me all hot and bothered. So I started talking to him again.

When he made a move on me, however, for some reason, something wasn't there. I wasn't in the mood; we were in my basement with my dogs barking up a storm and my dad singing horrendously in the kitchen, watching Harry fucking Potter of all sensual movies. He grabbed my hand and I just didn't lean in for the kiss.

He left quickly and we didn't speak of it again. Then he went through a never ending girl period that I wasn't too sure had stopped until he just now kissed me. He tried time after time to get with a bunch of freshmen girls and I laughed it on by. Slowly, he opened up more to me.

I wanted to help him. Tanner Carr wasn't just the school's number one pothead fuck-boy. He wasn't just the school's most popular partier. He wasn't just that and nobody saw it. His friends angered me more than anything. They didn't take in the fact that he was fucking depressed! Showing little to no discourage on his drug usage was bad enough, but they encouraged it. The drinking, the pot, the girls; they were all his escape.

So I had a plan. I had a perfect plan. He would slowly open up to me without realizing how close it brought us. He would fall for me. As he had suggested a month ago, we would become fuck-buddies. I refused to actually have sex with him, but I'd give him pleasure and in return, we spent more intimate time together. He'd find absolute trust in me. Medication would have been damn helpful, but his laboring parents claimed life wasn't fair and he'd just have to tough through it.

Bullshit.

Anyhow, I could help him sort through problems. I could. I was strong enough to listen and console him. I didn't mind. He was medically diagnosed with depression and his stupid doctor didn't give him the proper care. Well, I was going to be a doctor someday, albeit a surgeon, but I'd be a doctor first. I could give him my own personal care, altered slightly from the medically sane because I didn't have ethics and law to worry about.

Where was I? Ah, yes, I was explaining Tanner Carr's and my background. That wasn't _my_ only background.

At the end of junior year, I dated a goody-two shoe with a name that started with an A. It was only two weeks. I was a totally different girl back then. I was a pure virgin and he stole my kiss. Two weeks later, I broke up with him for reasons I'd rather not discuss.

Anyhow, that's how I got my first kiss. After that, Tanner dropped all hesitation in jumping me. We talked about it until we finally got the time to hang out and there I was, sitting with my legs open and his face between my thighs. I was consumed with both pleasure and our odd background throughout the moments leading up to my finish.

When he was done, I finished him off and he pressed his lips against mine in a deep kiss, nearly choking me with his tongue. So he wasn't the most caring person, but he did know how to please a girl. "Make sure to vote for me in homecoming, babe."

I expected my heart to flutter, as it often did when my ex's called me babe. It didn't, but I didn't let that faze me. Of course it wouldn't after just experiencing far more than a pet name. I searched his eyes, making sure he was good. A week ago, he'd explained how he initially wrote a suicide note in the beginning of the school year. Now it was late October and he had just finished getting around to burning it.

I thought of that as either progress or such huge steps back that we'd be falling off the cliff, literally, sooner rather than later. Of course, I called my close friend, Carli. We'd met at a summer camp and although she lived in Boston, we talked all the time.

She gave me an insight into a depressed kid's mind, and how sometimes the signs weren't all that obvious. She, too, was depressed. It came as a huge shock to me – she was always so chipper. She said camp helped a lot, but nothing would help Tanner besides medication. After a day's deliberation, I did go to my school counselor and explained the situation in short, though I left out more details than I was comfortable with.

She didn't do a thing. I tried to urge her to, and she claimed she had. She claimed she didn't have the rights to tell me. Well, I knew she did bullshit. I doubted she even put our meeting on file. I was so pissed for the longest time, but I saw not a change in Tanner, but not a decrease. I wasn't particularly worried because he wasn't depressed at the moment; he wasn't in one of his 'moods.' I decided I'd cross that bridge when I got there.

When I did arrive, he claimed it wasn't that bad, nothing a little weed couldn't fix. I hated that he resorted to such travesties, but if it helped – which I knew it did – I couldn't deny him that solitude. He did a 180 after he smoked. I hated it, but I hated seeing him so depressed. He saw life as a meaningless void and only beer, girls, and pot brought much stimulation up in him.

That was where we were today. I didn't love the situation, but my mood changed when he came up to me Wednesday and wrapped his arms around my backside, hands resting just below my hips. To old Ally who dated boring guys, it would have been far too low, but new Ally liked this. And new Ally needed to stop talking in third person.

"You have something on your ass," he whispered loudly into my ear. I rolled my eyes to my friends. There were four of them. Sam was very, er, open with her body to any and everyone, but we weren't that close. She was annoying. Paige was a good friend, though a little distant when things came down to it. Still, she was the one I trusted most; the one I could relate to more. Jodie was on the curvy side, and she was a bitch, honestly, and got on my nerves, but she was the only one without a boy toy now, though I didn't know if Paige and Sam could technically call theirs 'boyfriends.' Then there was the fake friend but not in the way you might think. We all knew about her home life, but Taylor swore she had a happy two-parent home. She laughed and put on a show, but we just couldn't get her to open up. She was always smiling, but we saw through it. Taylor had a new boyfriend, who I was slightly jealous of. She opened up to him. Currently, Paige was looking at me like I was giving up my virginity this very moment.

The only reason they didn't think I was a slut was because I wasn't, not truly. Sure, I was slutty for one guy, but did that make me a whore? Tanner and I weren't dating, but I wasn't planning on doing anything close to what we did with anyone else. We knew each other for a year or so before even becoming friends with benefits.

Besides, I didn't tell them one word. They wore shocked expressions. As his hand squeezed my ass while the other groped my front. I spun around and kneed him in the balls, tugging Tanner by the ear to the janitor's closet. We slipped inside after my friends were out of sight.

It was pitch dark but pretty big. I was shouting before the door even cut off any of the hallway's noise. "What did I tell you about privacy!? I said if anyone _suspected_ , your dick wouldn't get touched in a long whil-,"

Somebody other than Tanner cleared his throat. I blinked and fumbled for the light. When the room flooded with yellow, I saw two other people in the room with us. There stood none other than my most recent ex, the one whose name I couldn't remember. A little brunette stood at his side, head not even reaching his shoulders. I recalled they were dating. She was a freshman named Maggie. Now why couldn't I remember his name?

"Austin Moon," Tanner stumble forward so his hand wrapped around Austin's shoulder. Oh, now I remembered him. He was a _much_ more gentle kisser than Tanner. I had thought it was too gentle, but my still bruised lips begged to differ. "What's up, football star?"

"Is he drunk, Ally?" Austin let go of his girlfriend to steady Tanner. I shook my head defiantly. Tanner promised to never show up drunk.

"He's probably just high," I debated even with myself. Austin's brown eyes bulged.

"Just," he snorted. And I couldn't help but agree with him.

"He's not doing cocaine. I think he's doing okay," Maggie said with too much enthusiasm. She sent a dazzling smile towards Tanner.

"Thank you…Maggie!" He snapped his fingers as he recognized her. I watched with amusement as his eyes traveled up and down her body. "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…I can't believe you're only fourteen."

Austin shoved off Tanner easily considering his arms were about triple the size of Tanner's. I wasn't kidding. "Are you okay here, Ally?" Austin stared at me. I blinked and nodded, unsure what I was. Was I okay? No, I wasn't. I felt oddly dissatisfied. "Good, see you in science."

I waved too long after the door shut. My mind only then processed what happened. Why had Austin and Maggie been in here in the first place? It was a classic hookup spot, one that normally was high in demand. Athletes got first pick – mainly because every other guy was scared stiff of the football and wrestlers, which Austin was both.

"Sorry, Ally," Tanner spoke with little regret. I crossed my arms. "I won't speak of it again." He held his hands up in surrender. I sighed. "Hey, you signed up to fuck the pothead. I'm not responsible for myself when I'm high."

He grinned, knowing full and well how much that comment angered me. "One, you're not a pothead. Stop saying that. It's different with you. Two, we aren't fucking and never will. Third, you are high right now, idiot, and you're very much responsible for every secret and action. Clear?"

He smiled again. "Crystal. Hey, did you and that Austin guy ever do your dirty dancing?"

I rolled my eyes as we exited the closet again. Thankfully, nobody was in the hallway. "No. He doesn't like getting drunk or partying."

"He sounds boring. I should take Maggie off his hands…and on my lap," Tanner hissed as his eyes locked on the retreating pair waking briskly ahead of us. I snorted.

"Boring he certainly was." I had no idea how wrong I'd later find myself to be.

. . .

I felt Tanner's eyes burning the back of my neck and turned around. His long, slightly angular face was handsome. His tan skin complimented his nickname and Cherokee heritage. His brown eyes winked at me, causing my whole body to jump and turn around. He was such a flirt and he knew it. That move always got to me. I heard a giggle as he used it on the sophomore sitting beside me. She turned around faster than I considering she, too, had a boyfriend. I eyed him again just as the announcements turned on. He was tall compared to me but many other guys matched and beat him. He dressed in a preppy, Southern Tide t-shirt that cost what three of my original tie-dye shirts would, though I wasn't wearing those today. I hardly wore my comfortable clothes anymore except to sleep in. His shorts were salmon (pink, but you didn't hear it from me) with little swordfish here and there. Like I said: preppy.

"Excuse the interruption, but we will now announce the nominees for the homecoming court. Here's how it has been decided…," rang from the intercom. I righted myself and sighed. This was what they disrupted my normal schedule for? I walked all the way to the bottom floor to my homeroom for this bullshit of a contest?

I slumped against my desk and played on my phone while Tanner scooted forward, his foot kicking up into my outstretched butt. I shook him off, annoyed with the boy for interrupting my intense game of word search. I couldn't find the word _'integrity'_ and he made me drop my phone before the timer ran out. Dammit, I hated the ' ** _Morals'_** pack. Those were a hard choice of words.

"Listen, Ally, I'm a shoe-in," Tanner shook my shoulder, effectively ending my word streak. I shut off the device and stuffed it in my backpack, fuming.

"Jace Wayland, Jared Howe, Daniel Alton Wing, and Olaf Summers."

Dead silence filled the room. I looked to Tanner's crestfallen face and immediately regretted it. He looked so crushed, like all his pot got flushed down the toilet. Then he took a deep breath and slumped over in his desk. So much for the high he was riding. I turned back around and bit my lip.

"The girls are Clary Fairchild, Wanda Stryder, and June Iparis, and Ally Dawson. Have a wonderful day."

The bell rang. I grabbed my bag and began walking to the hall, owning a heavy frown. Since when did people know me? All those other girls wouldn't dream of speaking to me. Okay, I take that back. Wanda was a nice girl who studied with me from time to time. June scared the piss out of me alongside her boyfriend so I was the one to _un-_ instigate that greeting. Clary was an artsy girl whose protective brother had to approve of all her companions, hence why he didn't approve of me and my tendencies to sneak off with the weed addict.

I didn't fit in with any of them. They all had rather large cliques that voted for them, I assumed. Clary was part of what most people called the _Shadow hunter_ clique. Wanda was loved by every single being. It was impossible not to. She was known, as well, for being the class president. June was the top athlete. She was dark and mysterious but also brought a lot of winning for the soccer, basketball, and lacrosse team.

Where did I fall? I didn't party. I didn't have some large group of friends. I had my old, preppy friends, and I had my real friends, who had slightly less known and geekier friends that knew me by name but not personality.

I supposed it was all in my head. I was the top of the class. Everyone knew me because everyone saw me for tutoring. It didn't explain why they voted for me. I didn't find myself smoking hot – not ugly, sure, but hot? It didn't explain the guys. I had good fashion sense, I supposed, but I didn't spend every waking hour talking about it so it didn't explain why girls voted for me.

"Ally! You're on the homecoming court!" Paige ran into me, throwing her arms around my neck. I squirmed away.

"Eh, eh, don't touch my body!" I snapped. She grinned like that rule didn't apply to her. Tanner came from behind me and threw his arm around my shoulders like it wasn't anything new. My eyes burst into flames. "No touching my body!" I shouted again, running away from them. They caught up quickly.

"Who would vote for you, Als?" Tanner asked while waving from friend to friend. I sighed and Paige did the same. She pulled me aside where we found Taylor as well. She shot into the air and encircled me in an awkward hug.

"Ah, my little flower has blossomed," she said into my ear, again in the most awkward voice she could manage.

"Blossomed…right," I glared as the two went on and on about how they spread the word in less than two days.

. . .

Tanner was a walking water balloon. I wasn't kidding. He was stick straight in the air, and I didn't mean just his torso, but kept falling over. So I tightened up his belt, prayed the black blended in the night sky, pulled down my dress, and wrapped my arm around his torso. Then we trudged under the bleachers towards the line up to the field.

He was wasted.

I wasn't talking tipsy. I wasn't talking nauseous. I was talking with one more beer, he'd be vomiting all over me. "When you agreed to be my escort, I assumed you knew you had to walk across the field!" I hissed.

Tanner shuddered suddenly. I couldn't move. We were outside of the football locker rooms and they were walking out. I was cornered because Tanner had enough trouble going forward, there was no way in hell he was moving back. I threw his arms off me at the last second, but the putrid vomit still made its way up and out.

It didn't get all over me. The liquid substance landed above my right breast and that was it. Tanner was still hacking when I let out a disgusted scream. Nobody but the football players were around us, but I was too distraught to be paying them any attention.

"First, you make sure I'm 'wearing something black.' Then you make me cover for your drunk ass to my own _parents_ on the walk here. I carried you the length of a football field in high heels. Now you puke on me?" I screech. "Tanner you drunken idiot!"

My fists were headed straight for his face when a strong hand jerked it away. "Don't break your hand, Ally," came a slightly familiar voice. I spun around, tears streaming down my face. I was on my period, got all dressed up, my gut in a knot because I had to walk out there in front of my entire school only to never get that crown, which was a display of embarrassment on its own, nevertheless me walking on grass in heels, and now I had puke on my shoulder. I was so pissed off at Tanner. Couldn't he have the decency to think of somebody else for once in his life. He had depression and he wasn't doing anything to help. He went to a therapist. If he just told her half the things he'd told me, she'd give him medication.

By his lack of feeling and judgment, he clearly needed to buck up and get past his trust issues with him. I was at my breaking point. Was there a time when you should truly give up on somebody with so much potential? I wasn't a quitter, but it didn't matter if Tanner was the quitter. It didn't come down to me; it came down to him.

I couldn't fix him. I realized this only then, as the strong arms embraced me to keep from hitting the man passed out on the ground. I didn't know what I was doing. So he had a good couple of days. All it took was one little thing to upset him. Now he was killing his liver and lungs, driving his car down an icy bridge where the destination was nowhere but over. I couldn't have done anything to change it. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't his fault either, not truly.

No, we both could have done one thing; we could have found him real, proven help sooner. My naive brain thought a fuck buddy would help. Ha! The chemical imbalance in his brain was the only problem. There was only one solution; it needed balanced. Sex, love, or even trust couldn't solve it. Some of those things probably didn't even help.

"You go on without me. Ally needs help," the slightly boyish yet also deep voice spoke from above my head. I stiffened. Arms were around me. I hated being touched, not unless I initiated it. After the slam of a metal door the loud crowd suddenly lessened by tenfold. My ears were ringing along with the pounding of my head.

"Ally, I'm sorry I grabbed you like that…" I was placed on a soft couch in the middle of a locker room. The lockers all had names on them. This place was massive. The couch looked to be in the center, facing the end with a white board on it, but something blocked the view. Oh, a person blocked the view. I squinted my eyes as he kneeled down in front of the sniffling me. "Ally, it's me."

"Austin," I nodded, recognizing his beach blonde hair. It was such difference from the brown I was used to looking at. His wider face and a warm smile offered me some peace. This face couldn't hide anything from an emotion to a secret. It was plane and clear in these chocolate brown eyes that seemed darker up close. I found myself remembering times when Tanner's elongated face offered such different emotions I wracked my brain for hours trying to pinpoint his mood. Austin's mood was clear. He was very much concerned. And about me, it seemed. "Austin!"

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 **A/N: So what do you all think? Part two will be up when I get four reviews? Sound good?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

 **Disclaimer: Austin and Ally is owned by Disney not me. This is all fictional. I don't own anything.**

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He was in his burgundy uniform, pads and all. It hid his muscular arms slightly, but I could see more muscles in his thighs than I appreciated the last time I was this close to him. I took a deep breath and focused on his grim smile again, wiping at my eyes. "Austin. I'm so sorry you had to see me like this-,"

"Despite what you think, we saw a lot of each other when we dated," Austin cocked his head, gaging to see if I was okay. I snorted and smiled. He was also so funny with his warm jokes. They weren't always even dirty. "Ally, what's been going on?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, feigning innocence. "I was nominated for that stupid crown thing-,"

"Homecoming queen," Austin offered, a smirk playing on his lips. I frowned but wasn't mad at all.

"Right, that. Tanner promised to be my escort-,"

"Because you're dating?" Austin asked as he stood, walking to the sink. My thoughts drifted off seeing his pants cling to his ass. He had one hell of an ass. "Ally?"

I shook my head as he squatted in front of me with the wet cloth. I groaned at the smell of vomit mixed with the smell of feet. "No. No, we are just…" He hesitated before pressing into my dress. The vomit stain was right along my boob. "Go ahead…not like it hasn't been touched before."

"We never," Austin began, but then froze altogether. His eyes shifted to the door. "You two are just friends then." He nodded, getting the picture. I sighed loudly as he still hesitated.

"Just, here," I stood and shimmied out of the black flowing dress. Austin's eyes grew the size of the moon as he took in my full body. I spun around and waited. "Any time would be great now, thanks."

"Oh!" Austin sounded like he just started scrubbing the material clean.

"Don't act like you're some prude, Austin. You're an all star football player dating Maggie. With her, I'm surprised you haven't gone all the-,"

"We broke-I broke up with her," Austin cleared his throat, interrupting. There was a pregnant pause, as neither of us knew what exactly to say. "She partied more than I first believed."

That statement used to seem so bland coming from his lips. I used to think the nonparties were boring, like myself. I was never invited to a party in the past or I probably would have gone. Standing here, half naked in front of Austin, I found myself growing gladder I never went by the second.

"All good," Austin's heart stopping grin appeared in front of me before I could think. He handed me the material and I hurriedly put it on, feeling his eyes lick up and down my body the entire time. Where was this libido-filled boy when we dated? "Let's go win that crown, huh?"

"What?" I furrowed my brow. Austin was in his football uniform, helmet hanging from his hand, black lines under his eyes. He was ready to play.

"What's a princess without her prince?" He nudged my side. "Besides, it can't hurt to have some bragging points for the post-game locker room talk."

"Huh?" This was a side of Austin that had been totally foreign to me. He was dirty, not as disgustingly so as Tanner, but he had his moments. It made me feel sexy. I never felt sexy. I felt my butt and boobs made Tanner turned on because they were designed to. Austin, on the other hand, made me feel like even my personality was hot.

"I'm walking the field with the most beautiful girl of the school," Austin grinned, holding out his arm for me. I didn't have any better options and there was no way I could stand the humiliation of walking alone. The other guys were dressed in suits or tux, but my escort would be in a proud, winning jersey.

We exited the locker room and hurried to the line of the homecoming court leaving Tanner draped face down on the grass. I'd pick him up later or something, if I felt so inclined.

"I hear you're some huge star on this field," I muttered to distract myself from the nerves of everyone's eyes on me. Austin took to notice and played along.

"Started since I was a freshman. I guess we're both walking with royalty," Austin smiled cheekily as the director surveyed us.

"Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes at Austin. He smiled at him and he waved his hand, blushing. "Doesn't matter…it's your own funeral."

They began the walking and names then. Seniors were last. Everyone was whispering except us. I was too scared to. Then we were moving along at the pace of a snail while the names and sentences of juniors were being listed off.

As soon as those bright lights hit me, I stiffened. Austin yanked me along with no problem. I saw the rest of his teammates hollering with laughter at the end of the field we were walking to. "They're laughing at us," I squeaked.

Austin's hand brushed mine. "They are laughing at Maggie, in the freshman court. Somehow I managed to upgrade back to the better ex days after breaking up with her. At least, that's what everyone's thinking."

I laughed nervously. That was amusing. I turned my head as we rounded the 50-yard mark and headed straight for the bleachers. They were full. The student section was raging with whoops and hollers. They were all looking at me.

"My dress – they can see the stain, can't they?" I stumbled in the hole-filled grass. "I can't walk!"

"Ally!" Austin easily carried me over the rough patches, his hand winding around my waist so he could literally lift me into the air when I lost my balance. "If they are looking at us it's my football gear." I cursed in my head. He should have swapped clothes with Tanner, though they were soiled and half his size.

"Talk to me about something else," I hissed as we settled in our spots. The announcer was now announcing names of the contestants, willing everyone in the crowd to go online and vote right now.

"You asked for it," he almost muttered before asking. "Why'd you break up with me?"

I engulfed another breath of air as my smile threatened to fade. However, with how much he helped me tonight, Austin deserved the truth. Besides, we were in front of a huge crowd so he couldn't exactly run. "You treated me like a child. You were my first kiss so you just didn't go any further and that…well it made me self-conscious. So I had to get away from it."

Austin almost snorted, almost. See, he also couldn't hold deep conversations very well, though I debated on how deep this really was. "Let me get this straight. You broke up with me because I wasn't acting like a caveman?"

I took a deep breath. "Basically. New topic?"

"I wasn't-,"

"They are fighting," I could hear the whispered shouts from my left and right. Jace Wayland and Clary Fairchild had arms flailing as they argued back and forth. Austin tightened his grip on my waist and laughed.

"Apparently, they hate each other. The school tried to pair you with Olaf, the only other available homecoming king, but he insisted on bringing his date: Sven." Austin shrugged. "Clary's brother wouldn't allow her to go with anyone but his best friend and Clary's 'second brother.' Then Wanda and Jared Howe were encouraged to go together. That pissed off Melanie – Jared's girlfriend and Wanda's sister – so she stopped talking to Wanda and having sex. Now it's all in who breaks first, besides Wanda. She has been known to give people the silent treatment for days at a time, aside from her boyfriend, Ian."

I eyed him carefully, fully intrigued by now. He chuckled. "You sure know a lot about them," I noted.

"You'd be surprised. Girls aren't the only things we talk about in the locker room," he whispered. I sent him a doubtful look. "Okay, well, all of that included girls, so…"

"Oh Austin," I patted his chest and grinned with full integrity now. They came around to our names.

"Our final home coming princess is Ally Dawson, escorted by…not Tanner Carr!" The announcer fumbled into the speaker. Austin let out a loud shout of laughter and waved to the crowd. Everyone already knew him. I saw the announcer squint his eyes before speaking. "She is escorted by Austin Moon. Now Ally spends her time…"

I ignored his words I had hastily written down for him to say. Austin settled by my side again, a serious expression wavering over his face. I followed his line of gaze to the bleachers, where some of his teammates were nearing the locker. "I understand if you want to go," I sighed, looking up to him. He didn't even need to be here in the first place. However, I had no idea how I'd get off this bumpy ground and into safety.

He shook his head and a frown grew. "They are checking out your drunken idiot as we speak," he murmured. I took a deep breath and sighed. Of course they were. Maybe he'd be caught by the coach and forced into rehab or something. I doubted that. "That day in the closet you said…"

"I know what I said," I couldn't avoid his constant gaze. It burned my face so I looked at the ground instead. They started announcing the winners but I ignored it all. "I know. I'm not denying it…any of it."

Austin's arms crushed around me. "Oh Ally," he groaned into my hair. "No wonder you ended things with me. If I had known you'd been ready for _that…_ "

"What, no, you're a slut?" I said sarcastically, though I truly did want to know. He dropped me back to my feet and I could feel the stares the entire bleachers were giving us.

Austin dropped his arms and pouted. "You're no slut. You're just a little confused, willing girl who doesn't happen to have a boyfriend. Girls can want sex just as much as guys. I'm just…jealous."

I opened my mouth to respond but couldn't come up with one. I didn't expect that type of response, not from Austin. His hands snaked back around my waist and my heart did a flip. With a butterfly filled stomach, I decided the least I could do was listen to the announcements.

"Let's give a hand up to our homecoming king, Daniel Alton Wing, and our queen, June Iparis!" A roar of claps and hollers echoed from the crowd. I clapped as well and smiled, but I was more nervous about getting safely off the field rather than if June would beat me for not clapping. "All juniors and seniors are urged to attend the homecoming dance held in the gym directly after the game. Let's get ready for some _football!"_

I groaned as Austin and I made our way off the field. "Let me guess, you don't like dances." I shook my head pitifully. "Neither do I, but I do enjoy dancing and I'm sure you'll be a fun partner."

"You'd really come to the dance with me? After a tough game?" I gaped at Austin but couldn't force myself to be very surprised. It was Austin Moon – the nicest, hottest guy of our school. It was true Tanner was good looking, but Austin pulled off the hot rock star look with such ease my ease weakened when he first kissed me.

Austin was considered to be known for his looks and his two sports, but he had no idea how handsome he was. Everyone assumed he knew because he had girlfriend after girlfriend. Everyone assumed he'd had sex with each and moved on, but nobody took to notice that the girls were dumping _him._ Why we weren't sure, but I thought I knew. They all, including myself, made up some classic excuse that put them to blame for their break. Really, they hid something. I hid my insecurity and my naive lust for a deep, mysterious, and messed up guy. No matter what I told myself, I'd bet I had been hoping all those times I hung out with Tanner that this meant more to him, too. I didn't understand my emotions or decisions anymore and I gave up trying.

So when I got stuck behind Austin in the lunch line with my friend, we all talked about the most recent fight. When he asked for the video, Paige said she'd send it to him. In my group of friends, we all adored Austin and would give anything to date him. My most bitchy move was made that day. Instead of giving Paige time to send it, I sent it first. It got a conversation started between Austin and I. He and I used to go to elementary school together as well so we reminisced. After about four days of talking, we went to the movies where I acted like the scared girl I wasn't watching my first horror movie. He loved it while it bored me half to death. I would have fallen asleep if not for my hand clenched around his bicep, a giddy feeling I still longed for from time to time.

To this day, I shuddered at the thought of letting Paige send him the video of the fight. That could have been _her_ with Austin.

Actually, she gave up on white guys not long after that and got into a serious high school-sweetheart relationship with Isaiah so it was just fine for her. Nevertheless, he came over the next day, insisting we watched the original one of the movie we watched in theaters. If I hadn't of known he was going to kiss me, I wouldn't have suffered through it. However, the night before I confessed my true kiss virginity and he said I wouldn't have to worry about that much longer.

When he kissed me, sparks didn't fly, but they didn't with Tanner either. I was so confused with Austin. When we kissed again, it was slightly better, though his hands didn't move anywhere and I quickly grew self-conscious. Did he not find my boobs or butt attractive? Was I squishing him? Did my lip-gloss freak him out?

I always assured myself he was just being a gentleman, but those thoughts nagged at me too deeply. I couldn't escape them so I had to escape him.

It was a stupid move on my part. I should have just spoken to him about it. I was too worried, though. I wouldn't lie when I said I came to every game to watch Austin play. He was hilarious in science as well and I found myself growing fonder of him day after day. Of course, I kept my distance because of Maggie, but also because I was convinced I needed somebody to have deep conversations with. That person was clearly Tanner Carr. However, I now realized, staring into Austin's apprehensive orbs of eyes, that he could be serious and understanding too, possibly more so concerning _my_ feelings rather than his own.

"You're one of the best people to be around," Austin smiled gentle, walking back towards the locker room like he desperately needed to go. "Do remember that, Ally."

"Austin?" I squeaked before I lost my courage and ran straight into him. I wrapped my arms around his torso, awkwardly because of his gear. "Thank you." He grinned again and hugged me back. I shoved him away quickly as I heard his name being called. "Go get them! I'll be watching."

His smile touched the tip of his eyes as he ran off. Just as he entered the building, his swung his head back out and winked at me.

My heart did a full flip.

. . .

When we were up only by five points, the opposing team in gold outmaneuvered us, handing the ball back to their running back just in time for him to escape our main defensive lineup. Just as he seemed to have a straight shoot up the sideline for the winning touchdown, the clock ran out of time. Of course, he got to continue this one play. Everyone was on his or her toes.

And suddenly, a boy in burgundy came and tackled him out of the blue. Well, he came from his left, sprinting up until he had the perfect angle. You guessed it; Austin Moon saved the game. He was too fast and strong for his own good.

After the game, my friends urged me to just meet Austin at the dance: that they wanted to get their groove on. I told them to go ahead, namely so I could let them get drunk first. Then it'd be much easier to stop their annoying pursuits to get me to drink. Well, only Sam did, but she was irritating.

My ulterior motive was so I could snag a ride with Austin and try to sort out my feelings. Besides, how could I show up without – _gasp_ – a date? So I sat there in my little black dress and smiled when somebody sat beside me. I looked up, expecting the blonde hair to be glinting in the lights, but it was only chocolate brown hair. Unsurprisingly, I wasn't excited to see Tanner.

"What are you doing here?" I deadpanned.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I'm headed to the dance. Are you coming?" Tanner asked, motioning to his car that was pulled up by the gates. I snorted.

"You should _not_ be driving," I crossed my arms.

He held his hands up in surrender, but a grin played at his lips. It didn't make me smile in return. In fact, it made me madder. "I'm only high now. It all got out of my system, Ally. Hop in."

I shot to my feet in distress. "You think being high is a good state to drive in? How stupid are you? You'll be driving along the road, see a stop sign out the window, think 'Hey, what's that unicorn doing over there?' and run straight into a semi-truck!"

"That's not how it works."

"I don't give a shit! I'm not getting in that car with you driving high!" I shouted. Again, we were in the same spot arguing over his credibility. If he threw up on me, I swore on my unsoiled grave-.

"Does it look like I give a shit if you come or not?" Tanner's eyes narrowed. I opened my mouth to respond but found tears pricking at my eyes. "Goddamit, Ally, go ahead and cry. I'm going to a party – you know, a place you never have the guts to go to."

So I sat there and cried silently. I should have just driven myself here. I could be at least in solitude to cry. Now I would have to think of some excuse to give to Austin as to why I needed to go home.

I gasped as two large arms engulfed me from behind, lifting me off my feet. I just barely got a glimpse of orange, almost greasy hair as he sat us down on the bench, my legs resting over his lap, his arm holding my frail body up. "Hey Dez," I sniffed, almost laughing to myself despite my sullen mood.

"Hi Ally," he spoke with less enthusiasm as normal. I blushed as he kept his gaze right on me. "You know I heard what Tanner said." I snorted. Of course everybody had to see me get ridiculed at least once today. "You know he has serious depression, right?"

Oh, did I ever. "That's kind of what got me into this mess," I confessed, holding out my open palms. Dez nodded his head, still cheery as ever.

"People like him…you can't fix them by yourself, Ally. The only change will occur in you and it won't be fun." Dez explained. I frowned. Dez was a lighthearted, loud, and weird guy. He was the team's kicker and loved wearing fun, color-filled outfits. He wasn't a deep kind of guy. He must have seen the look on my face. "I have depression. Austin noticed it in me before I spiraled out of control like Tanner. He got me real help. I went to therapists and talked about my feelings constantly. I took a load off, I ate what I wanted – and then what was healthy. None of it worked until I was prescribed medication. Everything did a 180. That was in middle school, but here I am now."

I gazed at him curiously. I never would have picked him out to have depression. He was always ablaze with happy energy. I couldn't imagine what he was like when he was down. "Here you are." If I couldn't recognize it, those medications really did help him.

"Side effects and side effect later, I still feel better than the old me." He jumped to his feet when the door came open. After staring at me for longer than necessary, he shrugged. "Just because he has depression doesn't excuse his fuck-boy behavior." Then he literally skipped under the bleachers and to the parking lot.

I knew now he was correct. It sure as hell explained why he went from girl to beer to girl to weed to weed to girl to weed to beer to weed to girl to weed, but he was still responsible for the things he did and said. He wasn't stupid. He could see what was happening, at least to some degree. Tanner did it because he was selfish enough to only do the things that made Tanner feel good. Was that a terrible thing? I didn't know. I did, however, know that the things he did were terrible. I needed to get that through my thick skull. Somehow, I thought Dez just pushed it through.

"Ally?"

The voice came from right under my nose – well, above it. I hadn't realized I stood up. Now Austin Moon was staring down at me with a look of awe. He'd caught me in thought, but I'd caught him in study. My eyes flicked up and down his body. He was dressed in exercise shorts and a workout tank. It couldn't have looked better on him. His arms were pressed on my shoulders.

"We don't have to go to the dance. I don't care where we go, truly, as long as I'm not taking you home. But there's just one thing I need to do first."

I was too caught up in the first sentences to hear the last. That was it. That was what I had been waiting for. Austin Moon wanted to spend time doing anything under the stars with me. It didn't matter what from doing homework to making out. He had no limits or restrictions clearly. The words sounded odd because I couldn't remember the last time I heard them.

I looked up at him just as he wrapped his arms around my waist. His lips crashed onto mine with a fiery heat I wasn't used to concerning Austin Moon. But this kiss felt desperate and full of lust. His hands grabbed my ass, causing me to instinctively arch my back into him. Then he lifted me off my feet, wrapped my legs around his torso. His tongue licked along my lips, tasting the familiar water. I ran my hands through his hair, which had grown longer since the last time I was this close to him.

When I twirled my tongue with his, Austin let out a little groan. One hand pressed firmly against my butt, but the other hand squeezed my inner thigh, moving slightly higher every second or so. I grew lightheaded with his intensity. It was so much everywhere I had to pull away, a scared look on my face. Austin chuckled, squeezed my thigh with a wink, and set me down. Then he stared into my eyes, checking to see everything was okay. I took a deep breath.

"Where did that come from?" I gasped, flattening my hair and making sure my dress didn't get stuck anywhere. Austin smiled warmly, sensing the compliment in my tone.

"I guess I was holding back before," he shrugged and wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. "So how about that dance?"

I grinned and hugged his torso, a warm feeling enlightening my chest. That kiss was more than a kiss. I could feel the desire and the care laced in every lick, in every touch. Austin's arm around my shoulder warmed in the cool air. His hand loosely hung above my breast, just barely skimming it here and there. He wanted me. Austin was actually attracted to my pale, nonexistent boobs and tiny ass. I didn't understand what it was that made me realize this, but he clearly did from the twinkle in his eye.

"You saved the game you know…" I launched the two of us into a conversation. It was light but not pointless. I got to know more about the struggle it was to be a football player while he got an insight into my writing I did for fun, which he claimed was a waste of time. He had many snarky comments about my passion, but I still felt the respect and slight awe in the way he hung onto every word.

At the dance, we saw many surprising things. First, in the hallway we found Clary and Jace making out. Jace was shirtless and Clary was molesting him. I shared a dubious look with Austin. He steered me into the gym where we found Wanda and Melanie dancing together while their respective boyfriends watched like the kicked puppies they were. The worst one was June Iparis and Daniel Wing, or as everybody called him, Day. June and him were in the spotlight where they were supposed to be having the king and queen's dance. Instead, Day and June were sparing against two of their friends. Kicking their asses aside, it was weird. Once they finished, kids grinding on one another overtook the floor. Before I could tug Austin out there with them, my friends surrounded us.

"Ally, what happened to Tanner?" Taylor gaped. "You aren't turning into some slut, are you?" I knew she was joking and laughed lightly, but it didn't bode well. Austin squeezed my hip. I surveyed my friends with a growing grin. Zach had somehow managed to hold Taylor's hand and it was the cutest thing ever despite how much Taylor tried to distract from it. She claimed he was awkward yet she purposefully tried to be awkward. Isaiah had Paige pressed against his chest. I looked over, expecting to see Jodie, but she wasn't there.

"Where are Sam and Jodie?" I asked but got the first answer before I finished the sentence. Sam was currently grinding in her tight little dress up against Jaquan, the boy she wasn't dating yet but had sex with. Not only that, Jaquan's twin brother was also getting in on some of the action, and Sam had no problem to it.

I rolled my eyes and looked to Paige, already guessing the next answer. Jodie was pissed because-, "Sam is being a slut. Again. Jodie said she felt like a loner because her quote 'so called friends' aren't around her to dance with."

I sighed. That was exactly like Jodie. "It started ten minutes ago," Austin protested. I threw my hands up.

"Jodie is territorial. She hates sharing." I deadpanned. She was about to ruin a very eventful night.

"Especially Ally and Sam," Taylor shook her head. "Really, she just needs to branch out more." I couldn't agree more.

Austin could feel the tension escalating. He looked particularly over my head at the guys, and Taylor. Taylor was very tall. She and Sam were the tall ones of our group. Everyone else barely surpassed five feet. "Gentlemen, let's take our ladies to dance." He said in an old English accent. I laughed harder than I should have and it only worsened as we stepped into the crowd of bodies.

Instead of pressing my butt into his dick, I looped my hands around Austin's neck. Slow and steady. Moving my hips along with his, I grinned up at him. "You really are something," I giggled, biting my lip. His hands rested tightly on mine, moving them and somehow dominating them. I didn't mind. Austin was the first guy to ever respect me.

"No," he ducked his head and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. "You are."

* * *

 **A/N: Aw, I love happy endings. Cute huh? Well, this isn't near how the real story finished. Before, I had posted my 'exposure' chapter, mainly to lay down the facts and get it off my chest. If anyone is interested, I could post it again with an update. I just want y'all to realize that happy endings don't happen in real life like this one.**

 **Off that topic. Thank you all so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows! I hope I didn't disappoint. :)**


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